Customer Reviews

Fortune of Fear (Mission Earth Series)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have read some of these reviews and some of these people seem to be forgetting how long ago this series was written.
In any case, these weren't books. This wasn't a series. L. Ron Hubbard's whole point in life was to save humanity from itself. This series was a message from a very concerned being; stop destroying Earth!

I knew the book would be good but didn't realize that it was a used book at first ,I have bought brand new books in worse shape then this one. Great product and quick delivery. Thanks

Great series if you're looking for light sci-fi with a lot of humor in the form of a sarcastic parody of our society. But why would only the first 5 books be available on Kindle? We need the rest of the series!

This series began well, with much promise, and I remember reading each book avidly as a teenager. Ten years later, returning to the series out of boredom and a need for something to read on the commuter train, I've found that by book 5, if not 3, I've really lost any interest in what is going on. The subplots raise a smile now and then, but the "satire" is generally cheap, the plots could have been taken from any number of cheap, poorly written romances and fantasy novels (and maybe this was the point), and there is too much of everything. Too much "satire", too many subplots, too much of the same thing. Gris was endearing in the first book or two, but by book 5 you'll have seen just about everything you're going to see. The only difference is the way Hubbard continues to represent used plots and worn out ideas under "new", "exciting" contexts. I wouldn't call this science fiction. I'm not sure I want to call it literature, at some points, but it does have its endearing parts here and there. It reminds me of how it felt to be a teenager, now and then, but I think Archie Comix had more content, and they were only 20 pages long, instead of 400. Even better, you only need to read three or four comix (that's only about 50 to 80 pages) to find out the first one had everything you'll find in the ones to come (compare to 800-1600 pages). And if the plot failed (as it does quite regularly by book 5), you can always just look at the pictures to get you through to the end.

I. E. It won't take much hunting to find better.

I've read the entire Mission Earth series (back in the day when they first came out), and am currently re-reading them.

The only problem I have with the Mission Earth books is that they are SO good, I CANNOT PUT THEM DOWN and thus I lose quite a lot of sleep until I'm done with each book! When they were first coming out, I would eagerly await each book and then stay up all night long reading it. I've found the same to be true with all of my friends who've read this fantastic series.

Fast-paced, high adventure with incredible writing. I could go on, but suffice it to say, these are great books.

These authors have all found Hubbard's writing to be great -- Robert E. Heinlein, Larry Niven, Frank Herbert, Frederik Pohl, Jerry Pournelle, Robert Silverberg, Roger Zelazny, Jack Williamson, Eric Kotani, Algis Budrys, Andre Norton, Theodore Sturgeon, Anne McCaffrey, and many more. Do you really so many great writers would have such flawed taste themselves?

Hubbard was one of the greatest of the pulp fiction writers back in the golden age. And his later writings were just as good. There's lots of info about him on his web site,[...]. And no, I am not affiliated or paid in any way. Just a huge fan.

The paperback version of this book shows a roulette wheel, as a way of hinting at the episode in this book where the star, Jettero Heller, ends up winning ownership of all of Atlantic City. That's better than the original cover to the book, which can be seen on the hardcover edition (easy to find for one dollar at any used-book store). The original cover had a picture of the Countess Krak (one of the stars of the book), painted in a style that suggests it was originally painted as a naked woman, than colored over to make the suggestion of sex more "subtle" -- and to entice you to buy the book. The original cover was indeed appropriate, because this particular book in the Scientology-influenced "Mission Earth" series reduces sex to a hateful weapon.

After coming into possession of a ton of pure gold (the "fortune" of the book's title), Soltan Gris settles down into a happy lifestyle in which he rapes women, night after night after night. Upon returning to the United States after recovering from the injuried inflicted upon him in book 4 of the series, he gets his revenge on the two women who tortured him -- and he rapes them, thereby "curing" them of their lesbianism. After that, he greets the Countess Krak as she arrives on Earth to help Jettero Heller accomplish his mission...and the only thing that keeps him from raping her is the fact that he's terrified of her. An earlier ecstatic review of the "Mission Earth" books says that the reader feels sorry for "poor Soltan" -- before you're halfway through with this book (if you manage to make it that far through this sorry mess), you'll be sorry for yourself for attempting to read L. Ron Hubbard's sadistic fantasies.

As for the plot of the series, it continues to drag on here. Jettero Heller is stymied by the plots of J. Walter Madison...though why a super-genius like Heller would be dumbfounded by a gang of idiots like Soltan Gris and Madison is left up in the air. Fortunately, Countess Krak arrives to bail him out of his dilemma...and we somehow make it to the halfway point in this godawful series. Oh, and of course we can't forget the portrayal of psychiatry as the most sinister weapon in the arsenal of John D. "Rockecenter" -- after all, this wouldn't be an L. Ron Hubbard book if it didn't pronounce psychiatry as evil.

Fortune of Fear is the fifth book in Hubbard's great Dekology Mission Earth. It ushers back in the character Countess Krak who arrives on Earth. She makes her way from Turkey to Atlantic City and joins her lover the hero of the story Jettero Heller, whom by now is well into his plan to salvage Earth. Their mortal enemy, Soltan Gris, is actively attempting to sabotage Heller's mission. This book blazes a trail from the Mediterranean to the Swiss banks and back into a mafia-contolled casino, where the action is intense. You will love how Soltan get himself into such bizarre situations, and digs himself further everytime! A wonderful story, and a charming look at our world from a very talented author.

I loved all of these stories. I could not stop once I started them. The pacing is great. The satire is great. Hubbard has a fantastic and witty sense of humor. These stories also really they get you thinking. Love them all.